Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-10-12
A SURGEONS LIFE.
\ Page From the Experience OF tho
Father of Surgery in His Day

] have always maintained that it Is
impossible tor any man to be a great
surgeon il he is destitute, even In a
considerable degree, of the finer feelings
OF our nature. / have often lain awake
for hours the night before an important
operation, and suffered great mental
distress for days after it was over,
until 1 was certain that my patient was
out of danger. / do not think that it
is possible for criminal to feel much
worse the night before his execution
than a surgeon when he knows that
upon his skill and attention must de-
pend the fate of a valuable citizen,
husband, father, mother or child. Sur
gerry under such circumstances is ter
rible taskmaster, feeding like vulture
upon mans vitals. 1t is surprising
that any surgeon in large practice
should ever attain "a respectable old
age, SO great are the wear and tear of
mind and body.
The world has seen many a sad pic
ture. L will draw one OF the surgeon.
1t is midday: the sun Is bright and
beautiful; all nature Is redolent of Joy;
men and women crowd the streets, ar
rayed in their best, and all. apparently,
Is peace and happiness within and
without. In large house, almost
overhanging this street so full of life
and gayety, lies upon couch an ema.
ciated figure; once one of the sweetest
and loveliest of her sex, a confidlng and
ahectionate wife and the adored
mother of numerous children, the SUBJ
ject of frightful disease of one of her
limbs, OF, 1t may be of her jaw, if not a
still more important part of her body.
In an adjoining room is the surgeon,
with his assistants, spreading out his
instruments and getting things in
readiness for the impending operation.
He assigns to each his appropriate
place. One administers chloroform,
another takes charge OF the limb; one
screws down the tourniquet upon the
principal artery, and another holds
himself in readiness to follow the knife
with his sponge. The flaps are soon
formed, the bone severed, the vessels
tied, and the huge wound approxima.
ted. The woman is pale and ghastly,
the pulse hardly percepuble, the skin
wet with clammy perspiratlon, the
voice husky, the sight indistIlct. Some
one whispers into the ear of the busy
surgeon: The patient, fear is dy-
ing" Restoratlves are administered,
the pulse gradually rises, and after
4c" nOuIS VI udIu NOIh anu ItITlDic
anxiety reaction occurs. The poor
woman was only faint from the joint
influence of the an8sthetic, shock. and
loss of blood. An assistant, a kind of
sentinel, Is placed as guard over her,
with instructions to watch her with the
closest care, and to send word the mo-
ment the slightest change for the worse
Is seen.
The surgeon goes about his business,
visits other patients on the way, and at
length, long after the usual hour, he
sits down, worried and exhausted, to
his cold and comfortless meal, with a
mouth almost as dry and a voice as
husky as his patients. He eats mechan-
ically, exchanges hardly a word with
any member of his family, and sud-
denly retires to his study to prescribe
for his patients-never. during all this
| time, forgetting the poor, mutilated
object he left a few hours ago. He is
able to lie down to get a moments re-
pose after the severe toll of the day,
suddenly he hears a loud ring of the
bell. and a servant, breathlesS with ex-
element, begs his immediate presence
at the sick chamber with the exclama-
| tion, "They think Mrs. - is DYING -
He hurries to the scene with rapid pace
and anxious feeling. The stump is of
crimson color. and the patient lies in a
profound swoon. An artery has sud-
denly gwen way, the exhaustion is ex-
| treme; cordIals aud stimulants are at
once brought into requisition, the
dressings are removed. and the recu-
SAINT vessel is secured.
The vital current ebbs and flows, re-
| action is still more tardy than before,
and it is not until late hour of the
night that the surgeon, literally worn
out In mind and body, retires to his
home in search of repose. Does he
sleepY He tries, but he cannot close
his eyes. HIS mind is with his patient,
he hears every footstep upon the pave
ment under his window, and is in
momentary expectation of the ringing
of the night bell. He Is disturbed by
the widest fancies, he sees the most
terrific objects, and, as he rises early in
the morning to hasten to his patients
chamber, he feels that he has been
cheated out OF the rest of which he
stood so much in need. Is this picture
| overdrawn? L have sat for it thou
sand times, and there Is not an educa-
| ted, conscientious surgeon that will
not testify to its accuracy.